Over the next few months KiwiRail will have people and machinery working on the Northern Diversion freight line between Masterton and Pahiatua, getting it ready for the temporary return of freight locomotives at the end of this year.
It has been around 10 years since the line last saw one of our freight services and it will reopen between 27 December and 9 February 2025 while the Masterton to Wellington line is closed for major upgrade work.
KiwiRail Programme Director Andy Lyon says bringing the Northern Diversion temporarily back into service will help keep trucks off the road.
“Instead of sending logs by truck over the Remutaka Hill during summer when there is already lots of traffic on the road, we have made the call to bring the Northern Diversion line into use. That means taking logs the long way around from Wairarapa to Palmerston North, and back down the Kapiti line to Wellington,” Andy Lyon says.
“Over this summer there’ll be at least one freight service per day on the Northern Diversion shifting the equivalent of 72 truckloads of logs, which means safer roads and less emissions.
“Keeping the line in good working order also improves resilience, and means we can always get it up and running at short notice should something happen to the main trunk line,” Andy Lyon says.
KiwRail work crew are currently carrying out maintenance, clearing vegetation away from the tracks, replacing sleepers where needed and closely checking all of the rail bridges along the line.
“Over the next few weeks we will be starting work on the overbridge at Eketahuna, which needs a bit of a facelift to carry the loads our freight trains will introduce, as well as replacing old sleepers in locations where they have started to decay.”
Andy Lyon says the crew will be giving extra attention to level crossings to make sure they are in perfect working order and are fully visible with good signage in place before the first test train comes through in October.
“We’re mindful that people won’t be used to seeing trains passing through their towns. Daily service and travel times will vary based on demand, so it’s really important that people are super vigilant around tracks and crossings.
“We’re looking forward to working with communities to make sure people know what’s happening and there is plenty of information out there about safety around trains and level crossings in particular,” Andy Lyon says.
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